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Rick Perry's views on Medicare, other health policy issues draw scrutiny

The GOP presidential hopeful's views on key issues have triggered examination by news outlets. Meanwhile, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who proposed sweeping changes to the Medicare program, has opted not to join the presidential primary contest.

24 Aug 2011

Hospitals gain speed in heart attack care

According to a new study published in the journal Circulation, more heart attack patients are now getting care within the recommended time frame than were five years ago.

24 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Rational, not rationing, Medicare cuts; Paul Ryan's future; hospitals' clout

Congress needs to make sure that lobbying - and every dollar of campaign contributions to the super committee's members - is fully and immediately disclosed. ... The American Hospital Association has vowed a "full-court press" on the committee, as have defense industries and others.

24 Aug 2011

Faster angioplasty for most heart attack victims: Study

According to a new study more than 90% of patients who have a heart attack and need an emergency treatment like angioplasty now have it within the recommended 90 minutes after they get to the hospital.

23 Aug 2011

HealthAmerica expands social media platform through relationship with CaféWell

HealthAmerica announced today the expansion of its social networking community devoted solely to the health and well-being of its members through a relationship with CaféWell.

23 Aug 2011

Seton Healthcare Family receives $18,000 check from CMS for Stage 1 meaningful use

eClinicalWorks, a market leader in ambulatory clinical systems, today announced that providers associated with Austin, Texas, Seton Healthcare Family have each received an $18,000 check from the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) after successfully attesting for meaningful use, the maximum amount allowed for 2011.

23 Aug 2011

CVS Caremark announces results of Consent Solicitation from registered holders

CVS Caremark Corporation announced today the results of its previously announced solicitation of consents from the registered holders as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time on August 8, 2011 of its 6.125% Senior Notes due August 15, 2016 to terminate the replacement capital covenant, which was entered into on May 25, 2007, for the benefit of the holders of the Notes in connection with the issuance of its 6.302% Enhanced Capital Advantaged Preferred Securities due 2062.

23 Aug 2011

Ventas receives court ruling to collect $102 million from judgment against HCP

Ventas, Inc. said today that the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky has ruled that Ventas may immediately collect the $102 million compensatory damages judgment against HCP, Inc. that it was awarded by a federal jury in 2009.

23 Aug 2011

IFMC changes company name to Telligen

IFMC has changed its name to Telligen, effective today.

23 Aug 2011

Almost all heart attack patients receive angioplasty within 90 minutes of being admitted

Almost all heart attack patients who need the emergency artery-opening procedure known as angioplasty are receiving it within 90 minutes of being admitted to the hospital, a marked improvement from five years ago when most patients waited longer for the life-saving procedure, according to a report by Yale School of Medicine researchers and their colleagues.

23 Aug 2011

NHIC receives CMS contract to continue Durable Medical Equipment services

HP Enterprise Services today announced that NHIC Corp., a subsidiary of HP, has been awarded a $72.3 million, five-year contract renewal by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to continue servicing Durable Medical Equipment (DME) suppliers in 11 northeastern U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

23 Aug 2011

Medicare expands competitive bidding program

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says this approach, which is geared toward durable medical equipment, will save billions of dollars and could become a model for other efforts to cut costs.

23 Aug 2011

AstraZeneca announces availability of BRILINTA tablets in the U.S. pharmacies

AstraZeneca today announced that BRILINTA tablets, a new oral antiplatelet therapy, is now available in pharmacies in the United States.

23 Aug 2011

MME, WNDM sign major agreement to distribute CellerateRX

Wound Management Technologies, Inc., a leader in advanced wound care solutions, today announced a major distribution deal with Marketing Media Enterprises, LLC (MME), an Orlando Florida medical products distributor serving the direct-to-consumer and military market.

23 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: NY Times deconstructs health rulings; Issa on law & deficit; veterans' care needs boost

At a time when the nation's credit has been downgraded for the first time and our country is struggling to finance and reform existing entitlement programs, Obamacare's creation of new entitlements increases dependency on government and pushes our country deeper into a fiscal crisis of Greek proportion. As Congress and the president seek bipartisan ground to address the national debt, we must remember that the first step out of a hole is to stop digging.

23 Aug 2011

HHS approves new round of waivers

The Obama administration granted another 106 waivers last month from part of the health care reform law - the first round of three-year waivers the Health and Human Services Department has approved. The new approvals bring the total number of waivers to 1,472, according to HHS. Those figures cover waivers granted through the end of July.

22 Aug 2011

The politics of health policies emerge in presidential contest

The AP reports that GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry has backed an approach to health reform that could be "as controversial as Obama's remake." Meanwhile, President Barack Obama faces discontent from his base over many of his policies.

22 Aug 2011

Advocates worry over 'super committee's' consideration of Medicaid

Meanwhile, the health law's individual mandate could fall prey to deficit reduction efforts. And, in the background, congressional appropriators face especially unique challenges this year in trying to get their work done.

22 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 22, 2011

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Harris Meyer writes: "In the fourth year of a depressed real estate market, experts say thousands of seniors remain unable to move into senior housing because they can't sell their homes quickly enough or for the price they need. The upshot: Greater pressure on families to pay for parents' and grandparents' placements, or to care for them themselves"

22 Aug 2011

Disability benefits squeezing social security as politics dominates deficit talk

It's August, Congress and the president are on vacation. Nonetheless, talk on the Sunday morning programs looked ahead to the future deficit negotiations by the "super committee" and the president's upcoming economics speech.

22 Aug 2011